Centre and state differ on custodial deaths in Gujarat

AHMEDABAD: Gujarat had earlier drawn flak for custodial deaths and encounter cases. The state still frequently reports custodial death, but the state and Union governments have different figures for the number of such deaths in Gujarat.

According to figures from the Union home ministry, Gujarat reported just 40 custodial deaths between 2015 and 2018. On the other hand, an RTI application filed with the state human rights commission (SHRC) says that 214 custodial deaths were reported in Gujarat in the same period. According to SHRC records, however, there were 55 custodial deaths, either in police lock-ups or in central jails, in 2017. The number was the highest for 2018, when 57 such deaths took place, 46 in judicial custody and 11 in police custody. On the other hand, a statement tabled in the Lok Sabha in December 2018 states that Gujarat recorded 10 cases every year from November 2015 to November 2018.

During the assembly session in July 2018, the state home department said a total of 133 custodial deaths were reported between May 2017 and April 2019. SHRC member J K Bhatt, who retired as JCP crime branch last year, was unable to express his views on the issue as he said that he was not aware of how the Union government or the SHRC tabulated the numbers. Kaushik Parmar, the RTI applicant who got the data from the SHRC and a human rights activist, said that the discrepancies show that either the Union or state government is giving false information. “Gujarat is notorious for human rights violations, which have been increasing with every passing day. The government should provide the true picture of human rights in the state and protect the rights of its citizens,” said Parmar.